


The Sincerest Form of Flattery

by Vagrant_Blvrd



Series: Kings of Nowhere [41]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe- GTA V, Fake AH Crew, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-13 22:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16480934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vagrant_Blvrd/pseuds/Vagrant_Blvrd
Summary: Things have been going well since Ryan joined the Fakes, so it’s a shame he’s going to have to kill them. (Really.)





	The Sincerest Form of Flattery

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill for singulartoast who asked for Any of the Fakes with the Vagabond on Halloween - the one day of the year no one takes him seriously 
> 
> :D?

It’s Gavin who starts things off, comes into the penthouse one day with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face and his hands behind his back. Michael’s trailing him looking equal parts amused and exasperated and a whole lot like he’s going to enjoy whatever happens next. 

“Ryan,” Gavin says, sweet as anything. “Lovely Ryan, do you know what we found while we were out today?”

Ryan looks up from the plans he and Jeremy are going over for a job set for later in the week, well aware that there’s some kind of trap laid out here, but not sure what kind. (A common thing, when it comes to Gavin.)

“Trouble?” Ryan hazards, because that’s always a good bet when it comes to those two. 

Gavin huffs while Michael snorts, grin crawling across his face.

“No – well, yes,” Gavin amends, looking put out at that, “but we took care of that. No, Ryan, that’s not what I meant.”

Ryan stares at him, and Gavin, the annoying bastard, just looks back, eyebrows raised. He can feel Jeremy and his amusement watching things unfold, feel Micheal barely holding back his cackling and Gavin’s own terrible delight.

“...what?”

Gavin makes this bizarre noise and pulls a bag from behind his back, where he takes a -

“It’s you!”

Gavin’s holding a cheap copy of Ryan’s mask in his hands, and whatever he sees on Ryan’s face sets him off into breathless laughter that’s all squeaking and helpless flailing.

“What.”

“So there’s this place on the boardwalk,” Michael’s saying, because Gavin’s unable to talk. “And the guy’s selling your shitty mask.”

Ryan frowns because first of all, _hey_ , and second of all, totally uncalled for.

“We got one for everyone,” Michael says, holding up the bags he’s carrying and smirking like he’s enjoying Ryan’s suffering while Jeremy tries not to laugh too hard. “Halloween’s coming up and all.”

========

It turns into a thing, Ryan walking into the penthouse to see one of the others wearing the cheap rubber skull masks like they’ve forgotten they’re wearing them.

Making breakfast in the morning or sitting at the table reading the news. Watching television or going over plans for a job. Taking a nap on the one of the couches, limbs sprawled every which way and snoring slightly muffled.

And Ryan - 

He’s not sure what to make of it because aside from Gavin’s glee and Michael and Jeremy's amusement when the masks were first brought out, no one talks about it.

When he tries to broach the subject, because it’s a little disconcerting, he gets confused looks like _he’s_ the crazy one here, so he resigns himself to the fact that this is apparently going to be a Thing now. 

========

The worst part is that once the others are caught on camera wearing their Vagabond masks, it takes off. More vendors popping up selling the damn things to keep with the unexpected increase in demand, and to his reluctant amusement other costumes start making the rounds.

Suits with temporary tattoos and a glue on mustache. Hawaiian shirts with poor facsimiles of Jack’s beard. Jackets with snarling wolf heads and a plastic mini-gun. Button up shirts costume jewelry and gold-framed sunglasses. Terrible cowboy hats and colors that shouldn’t go together half as well as they do, and on and on.

It’s bizarre as hell, but given the kind of city Los Santos is, unsurprising.

========

Geoff plans a job on Halloween, because of course he does. (There’s a reason, but it’s a lot of “blahblahblah, because I said so, blahblahblah.” in between the legitimate reasons, so Ryan tunes him out.)

Things go to shit, because of course they do.

Ryan ends up hiding in an alley with Gavin, duffel bags over their shoulders and cops ready and willing to shoot anyone who looks suspicious. The others are making their own getaways, headed for safehouses where they can hide out for a bit, and the two of them are in a bit of trouble.

“This is not ideal,” Gavin says, like he’s misplaced his socks or can’t find the tea kettle Dan sent over from England and has to settle for using a subpar American one instead. 

Ryan grunts, because Gavin’s not wrong.

The cops have the area cordoned off, aware they have Fakes trapped like rats and plans to start searching once they have it locked down. Not the greatest situation to be in - 

_But._

Ryan glances at Gavin, eyes narrowing in thought.

They’re wearing masks from the place on Vespucci beach, evil pumpkins and zombies and the like, and there’s a street market a little ways down. The cops must have cleared the vendors and their customers out when the heist started, goods and wares left behind for the time being.

“Ryan?”

“...It’s Halloween,” Ryan says slowly, realizing that the suffering his crew’s put him through these last few weeks is actually going to pay off.

Gavin’s looking at him as though the stress of the situation’s gotten to Ryan, made him finally snap.

“Yes,” he says, slow, careful. “It is.”

Ryan sighs, because if he did fucking snap, they’d never see it coming, but - 

“Follow me,” he says, and doesn’t give Gavin time to argue as he steps out of the alley.

He smiles to himself at Gavin’s exasperated huff followed by the sound of his footsteps at double-time to catch up.

“Where are we going?”

Ryan looks over his shoulder at Gavin, and waves a hand at a kiosk selling bootleg goods, among them a familiar black mask.

========

They get stopped by a pair of uniform cops standing by a barricade, hands on the butt of their gun as they regard Ryan and the drunk idiot leaning hard against him. 

“Don’t mind him officers,” Ryan says, slurring his own words just a little for effect. “Office party, you know how it is, right?”

Ryan smiles, big and wide so the cops can hear it in his voice even if his new mask obscures it. Cocks his head when one of the cops points at his duffel bag.

“What’s in there?” she demands, hard edge to her voice like she’s not buying their act.

Ryan looks around before leaning in towards the cops, drops his voice to a whisper.

“Don’t tell anyone,” he says, “but we just robbed a bank.”

Gavin giggles, leaning around Ryan to look at the cops.

“We made a killing!” 

Ryan sighs as though his lot in life is looking after drunk co-workers, and shrugs sheepishly

“There was a lot of alcohol on hand,” he says, like it’s a secret just between them.

The cop looks like she’s moment from asking them to show her the contents of their duffel bags, which, _no_ , but her partner steps forward.

“Figured that much, yeah,” he says, sounding amused as he gives his partner a look. “But we’re going to need the two of you to clear out. The Fakes are at it again, wouldn't want anyone to get caught in the crossfire.”

Gavin grumbles something unintelligible, and Ryan laughs as he makes the appropriate noises before the cops finally let them go, towing Gavin along until they’re out of sight.

The moment they are Gavin pulls away, losing the drunken shambling walk he’d adopted and reaching up to pull the cheap Halloween mask off as Ryan looks for a car they can borrow. 

“How the bloody hell did that work?” 

Ryan glances at Gavin.

“Halloween was bad enough for me before I joined the crew,” Ryan admits, because Los Santos is a damn weird city. “You assholes wearing my mask didn’t help.”

Before the Vagabond’s reputation became what it was, people used to think he was just a weirdo who was doing a half-assed Halloween costume. And then once he had gained a reputation for himself, they thought he was doing a half-assed job of dressing up _as_ the Vagabond.

And then the others decided it would be hilarious to run around in cheap knockoffs of his mask to the point it became Thing – not only for the crew but the entire city – and honestly, Ryan has no damn idea how the hell this is his life now, _but_.

The fact of the matter is that people not taking him seriously when he’s wearing his mask on Halloween just saved their asses, so he’ll take that one as a win this time, even if it means the others giving him shit for it. (Because of course they will.)


End file.
